Embraer says that it has successfully completed a critical design review (CDR) for its KC-390 tactical transport and tanker aircraft in conjunction with the Brazilian air force. The review was completed on 22 March, the company says. "We have concluded an important stage of the KC-390 programme and, therefore, we gave an accounting to the FAB [Brazilian air force] of the work done. We will now begin the production phase of the prototypes," says Luiz Carlos Aguiar, president and chief executive officer of Embraer's defence unit.Completion of the CDR means that Embraer can start building the first KC-390 because the aircraft's aerodynamic and structural configuration are now set. Additionally, the aircraft's avionics architecture and systems installations have also been finalized. Manufacture of the prototype "will soon begin and all of the activities of the project are focused on taking the first flight in the second half of 2014," Embraer says. The KC-390 is the largest airplane ever conceived and built by Brazil, and Embraer hopes it will compete head-to-head against the Lockheed Martin C-130J Hercules on the international market.

After flirting through a technical relationship for more than a year, Embraer and Boeing have taken the next step in their KC-390 tanker/transport relationship.U.S. aerospace giant Boeing has signed on to market the Brazilian aircraft in selected areas, expanding on a technical agreement signed in the spring of 2012.Boeing will lead sales, marketing, training and sustainment of the KC-390 in the Untied States, United Kingdom and two unmanned Middle East countries. The pair announced their agreement June 18 at the Paris Air Show, and they are eyeing what they hope will be a dwindling appetite for C-130Js in years to come. Chris Raymond, vice president of business development for Boeing Defense, Space and Security, said the deal is focused only on the KC-390 and is not intended to influence the protracted source selection underway by the Brazilian government on a new fighter. Boeing's F/A-18E/F has been on offer there for years. The KC-390 market was previously expected to be about 700 aircraft, says Luiz Aguiar, president and CEO of Embraer’s defense segment. He did not say how many more orders he projects Boeing can bring to the table. The Pentagon, the largest single defense market on the globe, does not have a requirement for a smaller airlifter; it has been wedded for decades to the C-130 family, made by Lockheed Martin. Critical design review for the airlifter is set for next month. The first order is expected to be announced in the first quarter of next year. Two KC-390 prototypes are set to roll out later this year.

Embraer will begin final assembly of the first KC-390 multirole tanker transport at the end of April, marking a major milestone in the Brazilian company’s ambitious plans to diversify into the military airlifter market...

The fuselage, empennage and wing sections of the first aircraft are being completed prior to assembly at a specially built production site at Gaviao Peixoto, Embraer’s extensive test facility near Araraquara in south-central Brazil. The final body join, expected to take around three weeks, starts the clock ticking on a fast-paced development-and-test program, which is set to begin with first flight at the end of this year and culminate in entry into service with the Brazilian air force (Forca Aerea Brasileira-FAB) in 2016.

A priori donc on est toujours en préfal pour les différents éléments.

The KC-390’s cargo compartment is 41.6 ft. long, 11.3 ft. wide and varies in height from 10.5 ft. in the aft ramp area to 9.7 ft. in the forward fuselage. An integrated cargo-handling system is designed for loading vehicles or, alternately, up to seven 88-in.-wide 463L-standard military air cargo pallets or, in a mixed configuration, 36 troops or 30 paratroopers and six 463L pallets loaded lengthwise. Up to 80 regular troops can be transported in airlift operations. The ramp is 19 ft. long, 11.3 ft. wide, and total useful volume of the cargo compartment is 5,968 cu ft.

Embraer and the Brazilian Air Force signed the series production contract of the KC-390, thus marking the beginning of a new phase of the project, which began to be developed in 2009. The contract provides for the purchase of 28 aircraft over a period of ten years, with the first delivery scheduled for the end of 2016. Besides the aircraft, the contract provides for supplying a logistical support package, which includes spare parts and maintenance. At a total value of R$ 7.2 billion, the contract still depends on complementary documentation in order to go into effect, which is expected to occur within 90 days.